Teenage sensation Takefusa Kubo, who won his first senior Japan call-up last week, made his debut for Hajime Moriyasu's side as a 67th minute substitute after being overlooked for the goalless midweek draw with Trinidad and Tobago.

Kubo, who also plays for FC Tokyo, was invited to Barcelona's youth academy as a scrawny nine-year-old where he earned the nickname the "Japanese Messi".

Moriyasu has named no fewer than 17 uncapped players to his Copa America squad as Japan look to build for next year's Tokyo Olympics.

The Japan boss also left behind big-name players such as Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki for the AFC Asian Cup in the UAE earlier this year where his side were beaten 3-1 in the final by Qatar.

Qatar, who will host the 2022 World Cup, will also take part in the Copa America, taking on Lionel Messi's Argentina, Colombia and Paraguay in Group B.

UGANDA 0-0 TURKMENISTAN

Meanwhile, Turkmenistan got their FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Asian Qualifiers preparations underway, playing out a scoreless draw with Uganda in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

In their first fixture under recently appointed Croatian head coach Ante Mise, the Central Asians shared the spoils with the Cranes, who are less than two weeks away from the African Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Captained by PFC Lokomotiv midfielder and AFC Asian Cup star Arslanmyrat Amanov, the Turkmen side were unable to find the goal to give Mise a winning start to life in charge.

Farouk Miya hit the woodwork with a first half free kick for the East Africans, while Ugandan defender Murushid Juuko was sent off after the break as the fixture ended in stalemate at New York University Stadium.

Turkmenistan have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, but they enter the Qatar 2022 qualifiers fresh from a first AFC Asian Cup appearance since 2004.

They will enter the race to reach Qatar in the second round of Asian qualifiers – the same stage where they finished third in their five-team group in their attempt to qualify for Russia 2018.

MERLION CUP

THAILAND 0-1 SINGAPORE, INDONESIA 5-0 PHILIPPINES

Singapore: Singapore clinched the 2019 Merlion Cup with a 1-0 win over Thailand, courtesy of Ikhsan Fandi's first half goal, while Indonesia claimed third place after beating Philippines 5-0 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

🇸🇬 Singapore take home the Merlion Cup 2019 after a tough fight in the final! Well done champions! 🏆

Singapore, who had beaten the Philippines 3-0 in the semi-finals, began spiritedly with Ikhsan having the first shot on target on nine minutes. Thailand's Natthawut Munsuwan tested goalkeeper Zharfan Rohaizad on the opposite end.

As the game looked to enter the half-time break goalless, Thailand goalkeeper Korraphat Nareechan failed to latch onto a loose ball in the area on 37 minutes, and an oncoming Ikhsan made no mistake to send it to the back of the net to break the deadlock.

Thailand, hosts of 2020 AFC U-23 Championship, tried to find the equaliser but a goal was not forthcoming as Singapore claimed the title.